


Ninety Days

by Hughville, Pyewacket75



Series: The Days Trilogy [1]
Category: House M.D.
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:33:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24945412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hughville/pseuds/Hughville, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyewacket75/pseuds/Pyewacket75
Summary: House, having been fired one time too many, is issued an ultimatum by Wilson.  He must work in the ER at Princeton Plainsboro or move out.  He accepts the job, is put on probation for ninety days and works for Allison Cameron.
Relationships: Allison Cameron/Greg House
Series: The Days Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805380
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We don't own House, MD.
> 
> I wrote this with my partner in crime, Pyewacket75. For some reason Ao3 won't let me add her as a co-author.

Amber Wilson looked out the window as she spotted Greg House’s motorcycle pull into the driveway.  
“House is home early,” she said to her husband as she stood at the sink rinsing off dishes.  
“Seriously?” James Wilson groaned as he handed a clean dish to his wife. He looked up from the sink to see House limping into his basement apartment. Once inside, he slammed the door behind him and they could hear the loud bang all the way into the kitchen.  
“If he got fired again, I don’t know…” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was something he always did when he was stressed or frustrated. Which, lately, seemed to happen more often.  
House came to live with them when he was fired from a job at a lab doing research. Since then, he’d bounced around so many hospitals and clinics that nobody would touch him. There was only one place left but he knew House would never go for it.  
“I can call Allison at Princeton Plainsboro,” Amber suggested. “They can always use more hands in the ER.”  
“House is not going to want to work in an ER, and definitely not at PPTH.”  
“Yeah, well… beggars can’t be choosers. And besides, you said he wouldn’t work there so long as Lisa Cuddy was the Dean and she’s been gone for a few years now. So he has no excuse. Seriously, James, if he doesn’t do something, you won’t have to worry about kicking his ass out. I’ll do it. Gladly. He’s already two months behind on his rent.”  
“At least he sold his car to settle most of what he owed us in back rent,” he reminded her.  
“Yeah and yet he’s still behind. He spends his money on blues records, take-out and booze. Enough’s enough. If you don’t go down there and talk to him, I will, and it won’t be pretty,” Amber told him as she dried her hands on a dishtowel.  
Honestly, Amber was more than happy to read House the riot act. He loved to debate and spar with her on different issues that James would never discuss. It was common knowledge that Amber was a female version of House, which is why she and James got along so well, yet she couldn’t deny the sexual undercurrent that existed between her and House. They’d never act on it, of course. She’d never do that to James. However, sometimes, late at night, when James was on call at the hospital, she’d close her eyes and imagine her hands were House’s hands, and….  
“Earth to Amber,” Wilson said as he flashed his hand in front of her eyes.  
“Huh?” she blinked.  
“I’ll go talk to him. You call your friend,” he told her.  
Wilson rinsed and dried his hands before heading down to the basement. When he opened the door, a noxious odor hit him and he gagged slightly. Their cleaner, Rachel, refused to even enter the basement. She said there wasn’t enough money in the world to clean what she called “The Pit.” Clearing his throat, Wilson went down the ramp and looked around for his best friend. He finally found him in the kitchen nook pouring himself a large glass of Maker’s Mark. Looking over his shoulder, he nodded at Wilson.  
“Want some?” he asked, gesturing with the bottle.  
“You got fired again.” It wasn’t a question.  
House put the bottle down and lifted his glass in salute to Wilson. “You always were a smart one. Until you married Cutthroat Bitch.”  
Wilson closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten. He gave up asking House to treat Amber with even a modicum of respect. They liked to bicker and argue. Wilson just ignored the sexual undercurrent to it all because he trusted both of them.  
“My wife is calling a friend of hers. He name is Allison Cameron and she heads up the ER at Princeton Plainsboro-”  
“No,” House said as he limped past to the couch against the stairway wall.  
Wilson followed him and stood over him once House sat down. “Yes. You will go and interview for the position and if she offers you the job, you’ll take it. Otherwise, you have to move out and we’re done.”  
House burped loudly. “Gee, Jimmy, are you breaking up with me?”  
Wilson moved several boxes of old take out from the couch and sat down. “You have to work so you can pay rent to stay here. We don’t charge that much, House. I’ve been more than fair and you know it.”  
House drained his glass and dropped it on the carpet beneath his feet. “You won’t kick me out.”  
“Yes, I will,” Wilson said as he stood up and put his hands on his hips. “I’ll get the information about the interview from Amber and email it to you.” He looked around the filthy basement apartment. “You’re sixty years old, House. Most people your age are getting ready to retire and you live like a frat boy. I can’t take care of you forever. Grow the hell up, for God’s sake.”  
Once he was gone, House turned on the television. He heard Wilson and CB moving around upstairs. Rubbing his hand over his face, he knew Wilson meant what he said. House sighed, got up and went over to his computer. He updated his resume and looked at the email. He had an appointment to see Allison Cameron at nine the following morning. He grimaced at the thought of working for some grey haired old woman in an ER.  
XXX  
The next morning, House sat in Allison Cameron’s small office as she read over his resume. He couldn’t stop staring at her. She wasn’t old and she didn’t have even one grey hair on her head. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and she had gleaming blonde hair pulled back from her face with a wide headband. She wore pink scrubs beneath a white lab coat. He knew from seeing her when she greeted him that her body was as close to perfect as any he’d seen.  
Finally she looked up and smiled. “You move around a lot.”  
“If by that, you mean I get fired a lot, then yeah, I move around a lot. That a problem?” he asked with lowered brows. The last thing he wanted was for her to know how she affected him.  
“I’ll have to talk to the Dean,” she told him. “But so long as you’re willing to do the work, I’m willing to hire you.”  
“Do I wait here or go home?” he asked with a smirk.  
“Wait here.”  
Once she left, he slumped in his chair. He’d never get the job and Wilson would bounce him. Maybe he should just set up an online clinic. He’d tried it before but lost interest very quickly. Most of the people who used it were idiots with simple colds who refused to pay.  
House got up and began to poke around Cameron’s office. Her framed diplomas sat on the filing cabinets in the corner. The desk was neat with a tray for papers and a small Macbook. There was also a desk lamp but no framed photos of loved ones. There was also no phone. Then he remembered Wilson telling him that everything was computerized and each employee had a cell phone issued to them by the hospital. The last hospital he worked at was beginning the move to digitizing everything but he didn’t last long enough to see it all in use.  
Finally, he sat back down and pulled out his phone. When Cameron returned nearly an hour later, he was deeply involved in a game. She leaned against the desk in front of him and he glanced up at her. Her arms were folded and she looked grim. She held a folder in her right hand. House guessed it was his resume. He just hoped they hadn’t shredded it.  
He shut down the game, pocketed his phone and grabbed his cane. He began to stand when she held up her hand.  
“The job is yours but you’ll be on probation for ninety days,” she told him as he sank back down in the chair and began to tap his cane on the floor. “Normally doctors don’t work in our free clinic but you’ll have to put in two hours a week there. You will work with me only so you’ll be on my schedule. If you are late, disrespectful to anyone, refuse to treat a patient, or ignore any of my orders, you’ll be fired.”  
House tilted his head. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”  
“Oh no, you’re starting tonight,” she said without batting an eye. “So go home and get a nap. I want to see you back here bright-eyed and bushy tailed at ten-thirty tonight.”


	2. Chapter 2

House was stunned. “Graveyard shift? Seriously?”  
Cameron shrugged. “Yes. We work twelve hour shifts five days a week. We come in half an hour before shift to change and get our equipment. If you don’t like it, there’s the door and thanks for coming out. Nobody’s making you take this job, Dr. House. You either want this or you don’t. I take my job very seriously, and Amber told me you take medicine very seriously. I need more doctors in my ER, and since you have more than one specialty, you’re more than qualified to be here. I just need doctors who are going to do the work. So if that’s you, great. If not, well, you’re on ninety days probation. I can fire you without cause anytime I like, so keep that in mind before you go and do something stupid. Now,” she said as she shuffled papers on her desk and slid them in his direction, “take these forms, finish filling them out, hand them into Human Resources and go home. I’ll see you in twelve hours, scrubs on and ready to go.”  
“Yes, Mistress,” he said in a deep voice as he got up. Cameron looked up in surprise as he grabbed his cane and headed for the door. Something fluttered within her. House was very attractive, even if he was older. Amber said he’d just turned sixty but she never would have guessed that. Other than the salt and pepper thinning hair and graying beard, he seemed to be in good shape. His eyes though, she thought, were the most gorgeous blue she’d ever seen. She could easily see herself becoming lost in them.  
“Whoa, calm down,” she whispered as she fanned herself with some papers. Sure, it had been a hell of a long time since she’d even thought about men, let alone had time for them. She worked sixty hours a week; days and nights. There was no time for a clingy boyfriend who would just end up dumping her because her schedule was so erratic. They all claimed to be “cool with it” until she had to constantly break plans because of work.   
She didn’t want some random fling with a guy she swiped right on with the Tinder app. She’d had plenty of those. For her, sex had never been good or provided any source of release. There was no time for that. Her job always came first. If she didn’t have medicine, what else was there? She had just turned fifty that year and she was lonely. There just wasn’t anyone who caught her fancy. She made a vow never to date anyone she worked with. That was just a nightmare waiting to happen.  
She sighed and pushed back from her desk. Her shift was over and it was time to go home. Hopefully, House would show up for the next shift. She made a mental note to look him up online when she got home. Amber told her some things, but she knew there had to be a lot more as to why he couldn’t hold a job. She could have asked him, of course, but she knew he’d probably just get defensive, or lie to her. If she wanted the real dirt, she would ask Wilson. He was House’s best friend and she also knew he was a bit of a gossip queen.   
With that in mind, she opened the door to her office and headed to the women’s locker room to change.  
XXX  
House went home and tried to distract himself with the piano and his guitars but he couldn’t get Allison Cameron out of his mind. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. He used to think that about Stacy, but she was now forgotten and thoughts of Allison Cameron invaded his mind. He poured himself a scotch, grabbed a medical journal and headed to bed. He needed to try and get some sleep or he’d be completely useless when it came time to go to work later.  
When he woke up, he realized he’d managed to sleep several hours. He still had time before he had to report for his first shift, so he took a quick shower, threw his scrubs in his knapsack and headed to the hospital.  
It was quiet in the ER when he arrived and as he looked around he saw a few patients in beds, and some sitting in triage waiting for their turn.  
“You’re late,” Cameron said as she approached him.   
“You said ten-thirty.”  
She glanced at her watch and frowned. “It’s almost eleven.”  
“I had to change into scrubs first.”  
“That’s why I told you to be here at ten thirty. You don’t dawdle for half an hour and walk in when it suits you.”  
He shrugged. “Sorry.”  
“Just go get the next patient. I’m trying to clear things up before the drunks come in.”  
Cameron kept an eye on House all night as he dealt with UTI’s, broken bones and bloody wounds. The speed at which he dealt with each patient was staggering. His bedside manner left little to be desired, but he did his job and by the time their shift ended at eleven the next morning, there were only a few patients left who were waiting to be seen.  
“Good job tonight, House,” Cameron said as they walked out to the parking lot.  
“You seem surprised.”  
“I suppose I am. Amber didn’t mention your skill at diagnosing patients.”  
He shrugged. “It’s all about the puzzle and I love a good puzzle.”  
“You’ll hate the clinic then.”  
“I’m sure I will. Most people who come to free clinics could be treated by a monkey and a bottle of Motrin.”  
Cameron laughed. “So… you hate people but you love being a doctor. Interesting.”  
“Everybody lies, medicine doesn’t.”  
“I see.”  
They arrived at his motorcycle. “See you tonight.”  
“See you at ten-thirty.” She smiled over her shoulder at him.  
House rolled his eyes but nodded and watched her go.  
When he arrived home, Wilson and Amber were leaving for work.  
“How did it go?” Wilson inquired.  
“It didn’t suck. I’m going to bed.”  
“Hold it. That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Wilson demanded.  
“It’s the ER. You’ve worked in one before so you know how it goes. Cuts, broken bones and a bartholin cyst, which I made Cameron deal with. Nothing earth shattering. I’m going to bed.”  
Wilson and Amber watched him go inside, limping more than usual, but he usually did that when he was tired.  
Meanwhile, Cameron sat in bed with some tea to help her sleep and did some research on her new doctor, Gregory House. There wasn’t a lot of information about him but the consensus was that he was brilliant and had the potential to be great. However his lack of bedside manner and huge ego made it difficult for him to get along with his colleagues and patients. He was board certified in both Infectious Diseases and Nephrology, which Cameron already knew, but she wondered if given the right environment, if it would help him flourish into the doctor she knew he had the potential to be? Sure, he was at an age when most doctors would be retiring but she had a feeling, just working with him that one night, that he lived for the medical mysteries and that’s what kept him going. He was the one other doctors went to when they couldn’t get their own diagnosis and he was almost always right. That intrigued her and she was looking forward to working with him some more.   
She was on a mission to see what made him tick and she would see to it that he made it past the ninety day probation. Even if it killed her.


	3. Chapter 3

That night, when Cameron arrived at ten fifteen to get ready for her shift, she saw a motorcycle fly past her and slide in one of the handicapped spaces. She got out and started to walk toward the side entrance. House called out to her and she stopped at the door.  
“On time tonight, Boss,” he said with a cheeky grin. His helmet was tucked under one arm and a backpack hung from his shoulder. She smiled at him and noticed his cane had flames on the end of it.  
“Nice cane,” she remarked as she walked in.  
He waggled his eyebrows and smirked. “ _If_ I know what you mean.”  
Cameron shook her head and greeted the guard before putting her bag down on the table and walking through the metal detector. Behind her, House did the same. The guard did a cursory search through their bags and put them on the table on the other side. They grabbed their things and headed for the employee locker rooms. Cameron changed into her scrubs, put her bag and clothes away before taking a quick look at herself in the mirror. For some reason, she wanted to look nice. Satisfied, she shoved her phone in her pocket and headed to the ER. House was already there talking to a woman they referred to as a “frequent flyer.” She came in several times each month complaining of various aches and pains.   
“I think it’s broken,” she said as she held her foot out for him to see.   
“You said you dropped something on it?” he said as he examined her bare foot closely. It was quite bruised but he wasn’t convinced it was broken since she was able to walk on it.  
“Yes, some heavy ceramic bowls. My hands were wet and I dropped them on my foot the other day.”  
“But you can walk on it,” he said as more of a statement than a question. “Can you wiggle your toes without pain?”  
She did just that and it affirmed House’s belief that it wasn’t broken. “Do you drink a lot of milk? Or take vitamin D supplements?”  
“Yes, I drink milk, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything. Look at it! It’s black and blue!”  
“The calcium in milk strengthens bones. To make a long story short, your toe isn’t broken because your bones are strong from all the milk you drink. If it was broken, you wouldn’t be able to touch it, move it or even walk on it without extreme pain. And since I don’t see a cane or crutches, that tells me all I need to know.”  
“But..”  
“What?” He snapped as he looked at her file. “You’ve been here three times this month already. Do yourself or us a favor and just go to a clinic next time. We don’t have time for this. The ER is for _real_ emergencies.”  
“Well, I never!” she hissed as she got down off the bed, shoved her foot into her shoe and stormed out, barely limping, which made House grin as he watched.   
“What was that about?” Cameron asked him.  
“Munchausen’s,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Or she’s just a lonely hypochondriac.”  
“Could be both. We see her all the time. We call her our frequent flyer.”  
“Great. Next!” he called out and wandered to triage to get the next patient.  
The next week, he got a break from the ER and worked in the clinic, once again with Cameron.  
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were babysitting me,” he said to her during a lull between patients.  
“Maybe I am. I just want to make sure you get through your probation.”  
“And if I do?”  
“ _When_ you do,” she corrected him, “the sky’s the limit. We took a chance on you because we needed more doctors and because Amber gave you a glowing recommendation.”  
House blinked twice. “She did? Seriously?”  
Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “Did you put her up to that?”  
“Please,” House scoffed, “I have better things to do than rig an interview.”  
“She told me you were having a hard time finding work. Also, she told me that you were amazing with diagnosing patients.”  
“Well yeah, there’s that,” House said with a charming smile.   
“So you’re board certified in Infectious Diseases. I get that, but why Nephrology?”  
He shrugged. “Why not? I wanted a specialty while I worked toward the Infectious Diseases one.”  
“And you knew Dr. Cuddy?”  
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. She was almost sorry she brought it up, as it seemed to be a sore spot.  
“At Michigan State, yeah. _Years_ ago.”  
“But she was the attending physician when you came here with your infarction…”  
“Look, do we need to go through this?” he snapped at her. “Clearly you already know, so why are you asking me?”  
Cameron blinked and stepped back. The sudden anger was radiating off of him and it was a little scary. She was beginning to understand why he was having a hard time keeping a job.  
“I’m sorry. I was just curious.”  
House glared at her as he grabbed a file from the desk and wandered off to call on his next patient. Cameron felt bad for the rest of the shift but she tried not to take it personally. It was her fault for bringing it up but after all she’d heard about it, she was merely curious about what really happened. All she had to go on were rumors.  
When their two hour shift in the clinic ended, they headed down to the ER. The woman with the sore foot was there and House groaned.  
“She’s back,” he griped.   
Cameron’s assistant, Tyler, approached them. “You’ve got a patient complaint about Doctor House. Mrs. Woods says he was rude and dismissive. Considering who’s complaining, I didn’t send her up to the Dean,” he said.  
“Thanks,” Cameron told him. “Any _real_ emergencies?”  
“Nothing we can’t handle,” he responded and walked back to the desk.  
“I like him,” House commented. “He’s logical, scientific, efficient and doesn’t get mired down in needless emotions.”  
“Sounds like you,” Cameron grinned. “I better go see Mrs. Woods. Hopefully I can keep her from going upstairs. Last thing you need is a strike.”  
House watched her approach the old woman. Woods was annoying as hell but there was something about her that tugged at his brain. He decided to pull up all her charts and contact the other hospitals in the area. If she was a frequent flyer here, she was probably one at all the others.  
An hour later, after stitching up a toddler who got hold of his mother’s kitchen shears and tried to groom the family cat who responded badly, House grabbed a computer stand and started his search through Mrs. Woods’ records. He already contacted the other emergency rooms in the area and the files were in his email folder. As he combed through all of it, a pattern began to emerge. When he was done, he went looking for Cameron. He found her with a patient and waited for her to finish.   
“Hey,” she said when she saw him.   
“We need to get our frequent flyer back here.”  
She frowned. “Why? I placated her. She’s not going to complain to the Dean. You just have to stay away from her.”  
“Can’t do it,” he told her leaning on his cane. “I think she has variably protease-sensitive prionopathy. It explains all her symptoms including dropping bowls on her foot. She’s the right age and has a history of dementia in her family.”  
“Doctor House,” she said softly pulling him toward an empty bay. “If you’re right, she’ll die.”  
“If you get her in here and test her, then there are medications we can give her and get her into a care facility. She’ll still die but she won’t die alone. Come on, Doctor Cameron, what have you got to lose? If I’m wrong, the hospital can bill her insurance for a butt load of money. If I’m right, well, the hospital can bill her insurance for a butt load of money.”  
Cameron sighed. “I’ll have Tyler call her.”  
XXX  
A week later, Mrs. Woods was diagnosed with variably protease-sensitive prionopathy.   
Cameron called House into her office after the diagnosis. Once he was seated, she leaned forward in her chair.  
“How did you know?” she asked.  
He shrugged. “I went over all her files from here and other hospitals. She didn’t remember going to the other ERs and didn’t remember coming here when she went elsewhere. Her age, family history, complaints of being tired all the time…” he looked at her. “Do I need to go on?”  
She shook her head. “No one else thought to do what you did. We all just saw an old woman who complained. We thought she was just lonely. Turns out she’s married and has two sons. The sons and grandkids are getting tested.”  
“That all, Boss?”  
“For now.”  
He began to whistle as he grabbed a chart and made his way to the waiting room.


	4. Chapter 4

Wilson was making breakfast when he heard House’s motorcycle roar up the driveway. Wilson watched him make his way into the main part of the house. The door slammed and he heard House whistling. Wilson looked over his shoulder at Amber. She looked up from her iPad with wide eyes.  
“He either got fired and doesn’t care or he finally got laid,” she whispered.  
“Oh, I hope he got laid,” Wilson whispered back.  
House entered the kitchen and sniffed dramatically. “Are those macadamia nut pancakes I smell?”  
“Who’d you sleep with?” Amber asked.  
House slid into a chair at the kitchen table and smirked. “I diagnosed a patient no one else could.”  
“How?” Wilson asked as he flipped pancakes on the griddle.  
“Some bacon would be really good with those pancakes,” House commented as he grabbed Amber’s coffee cup and drained it. “I put two and two together and got variably protease-sensitive prionopathy.”  
Wilson and Amber stared at him in shock.  
“That’s a death sentence,” Amber finally said.  
“But now the patient will know what killed her.”  
Wilson squeezed his eyes closed. “That's nothing to be happy about, House.”  
“But diagnosing her when none of the other idiots in that ER could is a very good reason to be happy.”  
Amber tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Does that include Allison?”  
“No. She would have figured it out if she wasn’t tied to her desk. She’s smarter than all those other assholes combined. She could do great things if she weren’t so busy pulling pieces of windshield out of car accident victims and reattaching finger tips sliced off from cutting bagels.”  
“That ER would shut down if it weren’t for her,” Wilson told him as he pulled bacon from the refrigerator. “It’s one of the top ERs in the country because of her.”  
“Exactly,” House said as he got up and grabbed a mug. “She would be a great diagnostician.” He poured coffee into his mug and added a generous amount of sugar. He grunted slightly when Amber nudged him aside with her hip. They exchanged a glance before House went back to the table.  
“All doctors are diagnosticians,” Amber told him as she refilled her coffee cup.  
“No, most doctors are idiots. A monkey with a bottle of motrin could do what most of them do.” He tried to grab Amber’s iPad but she returned to her chair and held it just out of reach.  
“Well, be sure to tell the Dean how you feel about his doctors,” Wilson said dryly. “I’m sure he’d appreciate your input.”  
The scent of bacon mingled with the scent of pancakes.   
“Actually, the Dean called me up to his office to tell me what a good job I did,” House said smugly.  
“Aren’t you still on probation?” Amber asked before taking a sip of coffee.  
“That doesn’t matter,” House responded sharply. “I got an “atta boy” from the big bossman.”  
Wilson looked at Amber. She raised her eyebrows and he shook his head.  
“Oh, stop with the looks and head shakes. All is well in Houseland. Now, how about some breakfast? I’m starving,” House grumbled.  
XXX  
The following week, a mother brought her baby in and was seen by one of the other doctors. A few minutes later, she left, carrying her child and looking even unhappier than when she arrived. She stopped at the nurse’s station and a few minutes later Cameron walked over to talk to her. House passed them and saw her stroke the baby’s head. He grabbed a computer cart and headed out to the waiting area. He dealt with three patients while Cameron talked to the mother. He noticed JoAnn Dixon join them and smirked. She was a plain looking older woman with mousy brown hair she scraped back from her face into a tight bun. House always thought his bedside manner was terrible until he worked with Dixon. She made him look like an angel. She also hated him so he annoyed her as often as possible without actually crossing any ethical or professional lines. It drove her crazy and amused him.   
“Doctor House,” Cameron called out. “May I see you?”  
He looked at his own patient, a beautiful brunette with a deep laceration on her palm from slicing open a bagel. He put a sterile bandage over her partially stitched hand.  
“Don’t move,” he told her with a wink. “I’ll be right back.”  
Grabbing his cane, he limped over to Cameron, Dixon and the mother. The baby was fussy and Dixon was annoyed.   
“Why does he need to be here?” Dixon asked as she folded her arms. “Just because he got lucky with that diagnosis last week doesn’t mean he’s some miracle worker.”  
House smiled at her and then turned his attention to Cameron.  
“What’s up, Boss?” he asked, folding both hands on his cane.  
“I’d like you to provide a second opinion,” she said as she continued to look over the file.   
House moved to look over her shoulder at the computer screen. As he read over the list of symptoms, his eyes narrowed.  
“A cold?” he muttered. He looked at Cameron. “Want me to examine the baby? I’m stitching up a woman’s hand.”  
Cameron nodded and House led the mother back to a quiet corner of the ER. He took the baby from the woman.  
“I’m Doctor House and you are?” he asked as he laid the infant on the bed.   
“Regina, Regina Mills. My husband, Daniel, is at work but he can be here if you say so,” she said in a shaky voice.  
Regina looked about sixteen years old with her wide brown eyes, glossy dark hair in a messy braid, jeans, unlaced sneakers, and stained t-shirt. She placed her hand on her son’s leg.  
“File says Henry is three months old. Is he lifting his head?” House asked as he examined the baby who watched him with wide brown eyes.  
“No,” she replied, blinking back tears. “He just kind of flops around when I pick him up. And he’s kind of yellow, don’t you think? I told the other doctor that and she said he wasn’t but I think he is. He doesn’t want to nurse but he keeps gaining weight and he just lays there when we try to play with him. Also, his tongue seems kinda swollen. Is he going to die?”  
House looked at her and noticed she had a scar on her lip. “How’d you get the scar?”  
She didn’t take her eyes from Henry. “Dog attacked me when I was ten. Is Henry going to be okay?”  
“I want to run some tests,” he told her.  
She grabbed his arm and looked at him in desperation. “Is Henry going to die?”  
“I don’t know. That’s why I need to run tests.”  
She nodded and removed her hand.  
While the techs ran tests and took blood, House grabbed his computer stand and began to read through old medical journals. He smiled when he found what he was looking for and waited for the test results to come back. When they did, he went to talk to Regina.  
She was sitting on a stool next to Henry’s bed and she watched her son intently as he slept.  
“Mrs. Mills?”   
Regina looked up at House. She looked exhausted. A young blonde haired man stood on the other side of the bed with his hand on the baby’s back.   
“This is my husband, Daniel,” she told House. “What’s wrong with Henry?”  
“Congenital Hypothyroidism. His thyroid is non-functional. He has one, but it’s very small and isn’t secreting the hormone, TSH, needed for growth. I’m going to send a prescription for synthroid to your pharmacy. For now, you’ll mix it with your breast milk and give it to him with a dropper. One of the nurses will show you how and give you some samples of the drug. Henry’ll take it for the rest of his life and need to get blood work every three months for the next year so his doctor can adjust the dosage, if needed. He’ll catch up on all his developmental milestones in no time. You should also get him to an Endocrinologist. He’ll need to be monitored on a regular basis. I’ll get you a referral.”  
“That’s it?” Daniel asked. “We just give him some medicine? No surgery? We can take him home?”  
“That’s it. He was tested at birth but he still had enough of his mom’s TSH to keep him going for awhile, which is why it took a few months before he started to show symptoms. I found a case of a woman in Canada who was born without a functioning one. Like your son’s, hers was the size of a pea. She had all the symptoms Henry does and they put her on Levothyroxin, which was, at that time, the equivalent of Synthroid. So, Henry will be fine as long as he takes his medication. Every day. For life,” he reminded them. “The jaundice, puffiness and all the other symptoms will clear up very fast.”  
They looked at each other and Regina began to cry. “I knew it wasn’t just a cold,” she sobbed. “Thank you, Doctor House. Thank you.”  
He nodded and went to find Cameron. She was in her office. He leaned against the door jamb with a smug grin.  
“Solved another one, Boss,” he said. “Baby boy with Hypothyroidism.”  
“Wow. That’s almost unheard of nowadays, especially in boys. The TSH blood work at birth didn’t show anything?”  
“Nope. And the free T3 and T4 were off the charts. He still had some of mom’s TSH which kept him going for awhile but eventually…since he couldn’t make his own TSH…”  
Cameron leaned back in her chair. “Impressive,” she smiled. “You should write an article and publish it. The Dean loves it when doctors publish.  
“Hmm, that’s a good idea. Maybe I will.” He looked at his watch. “We’re off in twenty minutes. Buy me breakfast.”  
She laughed. “Okay. You earned it.”


	5. Chapter 5

During a break at work on Monday night, Cameron went into her office to catch up on paperwork. When the door was flung open, she jumped and dropped a file. House limped in leaning heavily on his cane.  
“Need you,” he said before turning to leave.  
Quickly, she got up and followed him. She walked faster when she saw where he was headed. On Wednesday the week before, a girl came in with leg pain. One of the other doctors, JoAnne Dixon, prescribed rest, warm compresses and an over the counter pain reliever. Now the girl was back and screaming in agony. Her parents looked frantic and House looked...well, she had never seen House look the way he did. His face showed a mix of anger, disgust and pain.  
“ _Doctor_ Dixon sent her home without doing a CT scan!” House hissed pointing at Dixon who stared defiantely back at him. “Now she’s back and it turns out she has an infarction in her left leg!”  
The girl’s father stepped forward and Cameron was not surprised to see he was furious.  
“Doctor House told us she needed a scan when she was here last time. He even ordered one but that...that… _woman_ told us he was overreacting because of his own leg problem. Now she,” he yelled pointing at Dixon, “says the only thing to do is amputate Carly’s leg! I want her fired!! She shouldn’t be allowed to practice medicine!!”  
Cameron took a deep breath and put her hand on the man’s arm.  
“I’m Doctor Cameron,” she said softly. “I’m afraid I don't know your name but I remember Carly. Come to my office and we’ll talk about this.” She looked at Dixon. “Doctor Dixon, come with us, please.”  
Thirty minutes later, Dixon was fired and Carly’s parents agreed to have their daughter’s leg amputated.  
As the nurses prepped Carly for surgery, House sat at the nurses’ station with his head resting on his cane. Cameron sat down next to him.  
“Dixon’s been fired but the parents agreed to the amputation. I’m sorry. I had no idea Dixon overrode your orders.” She shook her head. “She tried to put it all on you but the Dean agreed that you were right. I have to okay every procedure now but it’s something I should have been doing all along. Thankfully the parents aren’t suing us but they are suing Dixon.”  
She sat and waited for him to reply and when he didn’t, she put her hand lightly on his back. “Greg, this is not your fault.”  
“I knew what was wrong with her. She didn’t have to lose her leg,” House said as he got up and slowly limped away.   
For the rest of the shift, House did his job efficiently but only spoke to the patients and then only when necessary. Cameron watched him with concern but let him work. She could talk to him later.  
At the end of their shift, House packed up and left without saying goodbye. He showed up the next night with bloodshot eyes and leaning heavily on his cane. Cameron tried to talk to him but he brushed her off. She knew he heard that Carly died from a fat embolism during surgery. It was heartbreaking but not unheard of in cases like hers. How Carly managed to deal with the pain for six days was a miracle in itself.  
House approached her with a chart. With eyes averted, he thrust it at her.  
“All good, Boss?” he rasped.  
She looked over it, initialed it and handed it back to him.  
“Greg,” she began softly.  
He shook his head. “Don’t. Just don’t.”  
As he started to walk away, she touched his arm. He looked over his shoulder at her.  
“Six days. She suffered with pain you can’t even begin to imagine for six days and now she’s dead.” he said before walking away.  
Cameron’s phone buzzed in her pocket, letting her know she had a text. Usually she ignored it when she was at work, but she knew it was from Amber so she quickly checked it.   
_R we on 4 tonite?_   
Cameron quickly texted back. _Yup. I’ll be there at 9._  
 _Cya then._  
Meanwhile, House was still pissed off about the whole Carly situation. Even though he was assured by all involved that he did everything right, it only made things worse. If he had his own department, he would have been in charge and Carly would be alive with her leg intact.  
That afternoon he found one of the seediest, darkest dive bars in town and settled in. He planned to drink himself into oblivion.  
“Okay buddy,” the bartender said as he took away House’s empty glass, “you’re cut off. Time to go.”  
“I’m not your buddy.”  
“Whatever, sir. Just pay your bill and go home. I don’t want any trouble.”  
“It’s Doctor,” House growled.  
“Fine. Pay your bill, _Doctor_ , and get out of my bar.”  
House reached into his back pocket only to find it empty, and that’s when he remembered he left his wallet in the locker at the hospital.  
“Damnit, left my wallet at work. Gotta call for reinforcements,” he said as he took out his phone, which was dead. “What the...okay, I need to use your phone.”  
“Payphone’s over there.”  
“What part of _I don’t have my wallet_ didn’t you get?”  
The bartender rolled his eyes and handed House a cordless phone. “Better be a local call.”  
The first person he called was Cameron, but it went to voicemail, so he called Wilson, and nobody answered there either, so he left a message.  
Half an hour later, Amber showed up.  
“Come on House, let’s go. I’ve got plans tonight and you’re not going to ruin them.”  
House merely shrugged as he slid off the bar stool and started to walk away.  
“Hey!” The bartender shouted, “he didn’t pay his bill!”  
Amber let out a loud groan and quickly ran back to the bar to settle the bill before finding House outside leaning against her car.  
“Get in,” she said as she unlocked the doors and got in behind the wheel. “Hurry up!”  
House climbed in and let out a loud belch as she pulled out of the parking lot.  
“Classy, House.”  
“Anything worth doin’ is worth doin’ right.”  
It was a short drive to the house and Amber had to help him out of the car and up to the side door where his entrance was.  
House hung onto her like a lifeline as he searched his pockets for his keys. When he stumbled, Amber caught him.  
Finally, he got the door open and she helped him inside and dumped him on the couch. “Get some water and go to bed. James will drive you to the bar in the morning to get your bike.”  
“Yes, Doctor,” House chuckled as he closed his eyes and promptly passed out as Amber went upstairs. Then she called Cameron to find out if she was still coming over. When there was no answer, she left a quick text and locked up for the night.  
XXX  
A week went by at work and Cmaeron was professional but icy toward House. He wasn’t quite sure why but he couldn’t get her to talk to him.  
After another week went by with him getting nothing but the cold shoulder, he knew he had to get to the bottom of whatever it was. It also didn’t escape him that she hadn’t been over to see Amber, either.  
At the end of the day, House watched Cameron as she went to her office. Since nobody was around, he followed her and closed the door behind him.  
She jumped and whirled around to face him. “What do you want, House? It’s late and I’m going home.”  
“What’s going on with you lately?”  
“Nothing.”  
“It’s not nothing. Something changed. You seem...I dunno, pissed off. What did I do?”  
“Nothing, House. Just go,” she muttered as she shoved things into her bag more aggressively than usual.  
“You’re a horrible liar.”  
Finally she turned around and faced him, and she looked seriously angry. “What do you expect, House? What do you want me to say? I saw you two!”  
House cocked his head to one side and looked clearly confused. “You saw me with who exactly?”  
Cameron growled in frustration. “You and Amber!”  
“Well, forgive me if I’m wrong here, but we do share the same house.”  
“It was more than that! I saw the two of you go into your suite and you even hugged her!”  
House was still confused. He would never invite Amber into his apartment, and he sure as hell wouldn’t hug her. He didn’t hug anyone.  
“What the hell are you talking about?”  
“Oh, so now you don’t remember?”  
“No, I don’t,” he said as he perched on the side of her desk and got comfortable. He was going to get to the bottom of it. “Please enlighten me.”  
“Two weeks ago, you called me but didn’t leave a message. So then I got to Amber’s for movie night and I saw you two going into your suite, arm in arm, no less, and then once you got the door open, you hugged her and then you both went inside.”  
House thought back to that night Amber picked him up from the bar but nothing that Cameron described happened.  
“I don’t know what you think you saw…”  
“I know what I saw. I was just about to get out of my car when you two pulled up in her car.”  
“So why are you so mad? Do you think Amber and I hooked up?”  
“You two have had this...smouldering attraction for each other. I figured you finally decided to act on it.”  
House didn’t know what else to do except laugh, which only served to make Cameron even angrier.  
“Get out of my office. I can’t even look at you.”  
“Why? I haven’t done anything to you, Allison. I was drunk, I called you to come get me, you didn’t answer, so I called Wilson. Amber showed up, drove me home and helped me inside because I was having walking issues. Then she dumped me on my couch to sleep it off. End of story.”  
“Yeah right. I’ll bet you _slept_ plenty.”  
“Like a rock,” he said as he moved off of her desk and stood directly in front of her. He could just get a whiff of her flowery shampoo or whatever perfume she had on. It smelled so good he took a step closer. “Look, if you don’t believe me, ask Amber. But I want you to think long and hard about what you’re implying. Do you really think I would do that to Wilson? Or Amber, for that matter?”  
Cameron seemed at a loss for words so he stepped even closer. “But even if we did do something that stupid, which we didn’t, what do you care? Oh wait…” he said as he seemed to come to a realization, “you don’t have the hots for me, do you?”  
Her eyes widened and her face turned as pink as her scrubs as she tried to come up with a response. “What? No!”  
“Wow,” he laughed. “if you’re going to lie, at least have the decency to be good at it.” He stepped back from her and opened the door. “Call Amber. You owe her an apology so kiss and make up, and I want ringside seats for that action...”  
“Get out!” she shouted at him and threw her pencil holder across the room, narrowly missing his head as he quickly made his exit.  
“What was that about?” her assistant inquired as House closed the door quickly behind him.  
“I dunno, but tread lightly,” he said and quickly limped away. When he got home that night, he knocked on Wilson’s door.  
“It’s open, House!” Wilson called out from the couch.  
House came into the room and joined his friend to watch the game. “Where’s the wife?”  
“At the hospital. She’ll be home soon. Why?”  
“I figured out what the issue is between her and Cameron.”  
“Oh? Do tell.”  
“Cameron thinks Amber and I slept together.”  
Wilson’s eyes went wide and he sputtered a response. “Why...how the hell would she come up with that idea?”  
House told him about that night and Wilson shook his head. “Amber never mentioned it.”  
“It wasn’t a big deal. I called Cameron first, but she didn’t answer so I called here but nobody answered either. Then Amber showed up at the bar to take me home. Where were you?”  
“I was on call.”  
“Ah. Well anyway, Amber had to help me inside, and I guess she and Cameron had plans that night because when Cameron pulled up, she saw Amber and I go into my suite.”  
“Wow. That doesn’t sound like her, to be so...to think of you and Amber…”  
“I know, but here we are.”  
“So what are you going to do?” Wilson asked.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well it’s obvious Allison likes you, and you like her. What are you going to do when your ninety days are up and she doesn’t have to babysit you anymore?”  
“I’m going to see if they’ll let me start a diagnostics department. I’ve out-diagnosed just about everybody in the ER and the clinic. It makes sense to have my own department.”  
“You should ask Allison to run it with you.”  
“She threw a pencil holder at me today and kicked me out of her office. I’m just going to avoid her for awhile.”  
“You know that starting your own department that nobody’s ever heard of will be hard, right?”  
“It’s the journey, not the destination. If I build it, they will come. People are already coming from other hospitals and out of state.”  
“Really?” Wilson sounded genuinely impressed.  
“Yep. I do need a team though, and Doctor Cameron is definitely going to be on it.”  
“How many others?”  
“I think three is a good number, various specialties.”  
“Allison’s not going to want to be one of your underlings.”  
“If she proves herself worthy, I might let her be co-department head. I’ve got the casting couch all ready to go,” House said with a cheeky grin.   
“She’s not going to sleep with you for a position on your staff.” Then Wilson gave his head a shake when House started laughing. “Oh God...that did not come out right at all.”  
“I disagree,” House said, still laughing, “it was perfect.”  
The two men laughed as the front door opened and Amber came in. “What’s so funny?”  
“Nothing,” both men said in unison and went back to watching their game.  
“Uh-huh. Whatever. I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted.”  
Both men watched her go, and once she was out of the room, they began laughing again.


	6. Chapter 6

House wasn’t worried when he was summoned to a meeting with the board of directors. He knew it was coming, since his ninety day probation was up, and they would be discussing his future at that hospital. Of course, they could fire his sorry ass and send him packing, but he didn’t think they would. He had brought in a lot of new patients, a lot of them ended up being donors, which was very good for the hospital and he knew it. He had them over a barrel, and they would be stupid to let him go.  
“Come on, House,” Cameron urged him as she came and found him in the clinic. “Can’t keep the board waiting.”  
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered as he followed her into the elevator.  
“Nervous?” she asked him. She knew he probably wasn’t, but she was nervous for him.  
“Should I be?”  
“I would be if I were you.”  
“Why? Are you going to tell them to fire me?”  
“No! Why would I?” she asked in shock.  
“Because you’re clearly still pissed at me for what you think I did, even though you and Amber have settled things. I would think you’d want to get rid of me.”  
The doors opened and they stepped out into the long hallway that led to the boardroom.   
“Why would I want that?” she asked.  
“I don’t know. You’ve been avoiding me for weeks.”  
“I have not. Anyway, enough about that.” They stood outside the boardroom and she straightened his tie, which seemed like the most natural gesture and he looked down at her.   
“My tie was crooked?”  
“A little. Ready?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Everything’s going to be okay,” she assured him, with a slightly nervous smile.  
He smirked at her and opened the doors to go in.  
“Dr. House, Dr. Cameron, please sit down,” Dr. Ross, the head of the board, told them.  
Once they were seated, the meeting got underway.  
“You’ve had an interesting ninety days, Dr. House. The Dean tells me you’ve done some solid work.”  
House merely nodded. He didn’t want to say anything to jinx himself.  
“Have you given any thought to which department you’d like to work in, now that your probationary period is over?”  
“Yes.”  
“And?”  
“I’d like to start my own Diagnostics department.”  
Ross was incredulous as his eyes widened. “A what?”  
“Diagnostic medicine. I’ve got people coming from all over, looking for a diagnosis since their own doctors are unable to figure out what’s wrong.”  
“He’s right,” Cameron chimed in. “House’s track record for solving unusual cases is impressive. The ER and the clinic have been extremely busy since word got out about his abilities. We had a patient from Canada last week.”  
“I’m intrigued. Tell me more.”  
XXX  
An hour later, House and Cameron emerged from the boardroom. House was smiling, but Cameron seemed dumbstruck. Not only because she had never seen House smile like that, but because of what happened in the meeting  
“Did that really just happen?” he asked her as they walked back to the elevator.  
“It did. Weren’t you listening?”  
“I don’t know. Can you tell me again because I can’t believe my fucking ears.”  
She laughed as they stepped into the elevator. “You convinced them to create your own department and for some strange reason they agreed but only if I was co-head. And we have a year to make it work or they’ll dissolve it.”  
“They won’t, because it will work.”  
He was still talking about his plans as they stepped into the elevator but she wasn’t listening because she was so distracted by his enthusiasm. It was quite infectious and not something she was used to seeing. House didn’t do enthusiasm.  
“So what do you say?” he asked her, bringing her back to the present.  
“Sorry, about what?”  
“Wanna get a celebratory drink? Or do you want to eat? We can do that too. At the same table, even.”  
She blinked, looking surprised. “Are you… are you asking me out, House?”  
“Is there a problem? Oh right, you still think I slept with Amber. Never mind. Forget I mentioned it.”  
“House, wait,” Cameron placed her hand on his arm to stop him and he looked down at it, then back up at her. “It’s not that. I just…”  
“You just what?”  
She shrugged and removed her hand. “I didn’t think you were interested…”  
The look he gave her removed any doubt in her mind that he did indeed like her. If there weren’t so many people around, she couldn’t help but wonder if he might have kissed her. She certainly would have let him.  
 _God, I could get lost in those bright blue eyes…._ she thought as she looked up at him.  
“I’ve always been interested,” he said softly.

**To Be Continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just part 1 of a trilogy. I will begin posting part 2 tomorrow. :D


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